Construction
Op-Ed: Excessive Water Hook-up Fees Stunt Seattle’s ADU Building Boom
Seattle Public Utilities is using “No Tap” water mains to extort homebuilders for system upgrades.
The gauntlet created by Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) for access...
A Follow-Up on the Living Building Challenge
It is impossible to ignore the construction that is happening throughout the Puget Sound region. Cranes and scaffolding are everywhere. In Q1 2023 alone,...
Op-Ed: Save Luma the Giant Cedar from Redevelopment
Tree activists rally, seeking to save a giant red cedar in Wedgwood from the ax.
Luma is a healthy old growth Western red cedar in...
Seattle Council Expands Tree Protections, Pedersen Dissents
Seeking to grow its tree canopy cover, Seattle -- a city originally built on logging and carved out of towering old growth forest --...
The Urbanist Podcast: How to Crush a Housing Project the Seattle Way
In this episode, civil engineer and Urbanist contributing writer Donna Breske discusses her experience with the frustrating hurdles posed by the permitting process in Seattle with...
Op-Ed: Seattle’s Water Main Upgrade Policy is Causing Higher Costs and Homebuilding Snags
A City stakeholder meeting on May 25 holds the prospect of improving processes around water system upgrades and permitting.
The Urbanist has covered before how...
Sunday Video: Renovating an Abandoned High School into Apartments
Purchasing an abandoned high school for $100,000, three developers carved out a lovely 31 unit apartment building in the Pittsburgh suburb of Homestead, Pennsylvania....
Explainer: What is a Builder’s Remedy and Will It Solve Seattle’s Housing Crisis?
Sometimes there is a concept that pops up out of the blue that sounds like solution to so many problems. Among housing advocates in...